About the MBA
About Us
About the Millard Business Association
The Millard Business Association, Inc. (MBA) is a very new organization, having been first conceived in May, 2003 by a small group of business owners who recognized the possibilities for networking and community development that existed in the Millard area for companies and their employees.
Some thirty years following the annexation of Millard by Omaha, people continue to identify Millard as a unique community set within the greater community of Omaha. Just as Florence, Dundee, Vinton and Benson retain some element of that identity from their history as independent townships, so Millard maintains a small-town feel in many ways, although on a larger scale.
It was this community feeling that the MBA Steering Committee was tapping into when they originally organized themselves into the Association we now have. The thirteen members of the committee had their hands full determining how to draft by-laws and obtain nonprofit status. As Interim President Mel Oliva, an Insurance Agent with Bankers Life and Casualty says, "From the get-go, exciting times have consumed all the original members of the Steering Committee to create and implement a Millard area business group that we now call the Millard Business Association."
Not until July 2003 had the businesses in the Millard area bonded together so strongly, when the MBA held its first business social at Boulder Creek. An initial membership goal from May was to have 50 members by the first Business Social. More than 100 people attended, excited at the idea of networking with other Millard-area business professionals. By the end of the night, MBA was nearing 100 members. Business socials have since been held at The Q-Joint BBQ, Mail Solutions, and Papillion Sanitation.
In September 2003, the MBA held it`s first Annual Meeting, and members elected the new Executive Board, who took office November 1, 2003. David Fournier, an attorney with Fournier & Dales LLP, was elected President, Rich Howdle, owner of Mail Solutions, was elected Vice President, Corky Blum, branch manager with Security National Bank, was elected Treasurer, and Mel Hanna, manager of Millard Dairy Queen, was elected Secretary. Two positions typically filled by succession were announced, Mel Oliva was elected to be Fournier`s successor as President-elect, and Steve Andersen, owner of Steve Andersen Electrical Contracting, was appointed by the board to the Past President position.
In the years since that first social, membership has grown to more than 400 businesses, representing virtually every type of company, large and small. The explosive growth MBA has experienced gives the organization tremendous opportunities to satisfy our core objectives:
* Promote, preserve, and enhance Millard-area commerce
* Develop active business-to-business networking among members
* Provide business-specific educational opportunities to members
* Provide benevolent community programs
Millard Business Association is actively recruiting members. Annual dues are just $100 for a company, regardless of size. Any business or non-profit organization who has a business interest in the greater Millard area may join. You can either join on-line by credit card or you can mail a check to: Millard Business Association, P.O. Box 391166, Omaha, NE 68139-1166. If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Espinosa at info@millardbusinessassociation.org or 402-707-2827.
About the Millard Business Association emblem:
The rising sun represents an association that is rising into greatness. The colors (red, blue and green) represent the major schools within the area, Millard West, Millard North, Millard South, and Skutt Catholic.
